Locking device for derailed trolley-arms



C. E. AND P. PIGACHE.

LOCKING DEVICE roa DERAILED TROLLEY ARMS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY I8, I917- 1,339,221.

Patented May 4, 1 920,

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

MWHITORS I APPLICATION FILED MAYIB. I QIT.

Patented May 4, 19 20.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2-,

WAMM) PA ENT OFFICE.

GHAELESEMILEPIGAQH AnnrrEimE PIGACHE, or rams, FRANCE.

LOCKING DEvIcEEoEnEnAILEn moLLEY-AEMsi T To all whom itmay-concem:

Be it known that we, CHARLES EMILE PIGAOHE and PIERRE PIGACHE, engineers, two citizens of the Republic ofFrance, resif dents of Paris, (post-office address 206 Rue de Charenton,) France, have invented a new and useful Locking Device for. Derailed Trolley-Arms, whichlocking device is fully set forth in the followingspecification.

The present inventionrelates toi a device for momentarily stopping, or at least retarding, the upward movement of aderailed trolley pole, and it proposes an improved. device of this nature which is applicable either to a' trolley pole mechanism of the ordinary type, or to a pole equipped with an automatic releasing and folding mechanism of.

the character shown and described in our prior Patent, No..1,187,782, issued. June 20, 1916. I

The invention also resides in the provision of a device of the kind above specifiedwhich may be applied to a trolley pole'equipped with: an alining mechanism. such as shown and described in our later Patent, No. 1,219,769, issued March 20, 1917:, without interfering in any way withitheautomatic operationof said mechanism.

The accompanying drawingshows, in: a somewhat diagrammatic manner, various forms of locking devices constructed. in accordance with the invention and: applied to trolley pole mechanisms of different characters.

In 1 said drawing Figures 1., 2 and 3 represent the invention applied to'a trolley pole mechanism of the type disclosed in-the earlier: of our two prior. patents aboveidentified, andshow the positions which the various parts assume during successive stages in theoper-ation;

Fig; 4 shows a slightly modified form. of

locking devlce applied to a mechanism of the same type, said mechanism being additionally equipped with an alining device of the character disclosed in the other of. our. two

Referring; to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, 1 indicates Specificationof Letters'Patent.

Application filed llllay 18, 1917*. Serial No. 169,594.

further modified form of,

Patented May 4, 1920.

the trolley pole proper, which may be of the usual or any preferred construction, 2 the socket wherein it is fitted, and 3 the rotatable sleeve to which said socket isconnected and which is itself mounted on a suitable base 21, these parts being shown in dotted lines. The connections 6 between the socket 2 and sleeve 3.- which control the automatic release and folding. of the. pole may be, and preferably are of the character illustrated diagram.- matically in Fig. 1 of our said Patent No. 1,187,782,. and are fully described therein. They form in. themselves no part of the present invention, and for that reason they neednot be explained herein and are merely indicated in dotted lines.

The locking device, in which the invention -resides,.is represented in said figures as in the form of a cam plate 12 having somewhat the shape of a sector, said plate being. pivoted at its apex on a lateral stud or pin 13, which islikewise fastened to the sleeve 3. This plate 12. is provided adjacent. its apex with a shoulder 14: for co-action. with the terminal. nose 11 of an arm 10, as hereinafter explained, said arm forming an extension of. a. link 5 which is attached at its upper endto apin7 fixed to the socket and has a pivotal mounting at-its lower end on apin 8 carried bythe end of a bracket 9v which is fastened to the sleeve 3. The peripheral edge of said. plate may be provided with teeth 15 for engagement with a pin or stud 16, that projects laterally from thepole socket 2, though the teeth may be omitted, if desired, and the edge of the plate left plain, as is the case with the cam 12 in Fig: 4.

Fig. 1 shows the normal position of the several parts, the nose 11 of the arm 10 hearing against the shoulder 14:- on the cam 12and thereby holding said cam above and out of engagement with the pin 16. When the pole issuddenly forced downward from any cause, its wheel or head leaves the wire, as will be understood, and immediately thereafter the pole tends, under ordinary conditions, to swing abruptly upward. Dur= ing this initial movement of the pole, the

connecting arm 5, 10 is caused to swing or rock toward the left, as indicated by the arrow a in Fig. 1, which frees the nose 11 from shoulder 14 and'thereby permits the cam 12 to drop by gravity. The peripheral edge of said plate is eccentric to the pivot 18 and is so disposed with relation to the stud 16 that as the plate swings down, its edge gradually approaches, and ultimately binds against said stud, as will be apparent from Figs. 2 and 3, the latter figure showing the parts in locked position, The parts assume their original positions during the reengagement of the pole head or wheel with the wire, which takes place in the manner described in our said Patent, No. 1,187 ,782,the arm 5, 10 moving toward the right at such time, and the nose 11 of said arm engaging and lifting the cam 12 until the pole head again .contacts with the wire.

The construction represented in Fig. 4; operates in the same general manner as that just described, but includes an additional device in the nature of an aliner, generally indicated at 17, which acts to automatically bring back the pole, after it has jumped the wire, to a position within the limits of the car area; said device forming the subject of our said prior Patent No. 1,219,769, to which reference may be had for a complete description. In the form of the invention represented in Fig. 4:, the locking plate or cam 12 is pivoted on the stud or pin 16 on the pole socket 2, and is provided with a pin or lug 18, which projects through a longitudinal slot 19 formed in a bar 20. The latter is pivoted at its rear end to the extension 10 of the link 5, said extension beengagement of the pole.

ing elongated and curved at its free end, as

indicated at 11. The peripheral edge of the cam is designed to coact with the pin or stud 13' on the sleeve 3, but is normally held away from said stud by the bar slot 19, the inner end wall of which supports the cam in raised position. When disengagement of the pole takes place, the connecting arm 5, 10 swings to the left as before, with the result that the slotted bar 20 is pulled endwise in the same direction. This movement of the bar releases the locking cam 12, due to the travel of pin 18 in slot 19, said cam swinging downward and ultimately binding against the stud 13. The return of the parts to their respective normal positions is effected by the rengagement of the pole with the wire.

In the modified construction shown in Fig. 5, the locking member 12 is controlled by a bar 18 having a slot and-pin connection 19, 20 with said member, the bar being pivoted at its lower end at 7 2 to the connecting device 6 The arrangement is such that the locking member or cam, which is preferably wedge-shaped, is normally held in raised or inactive position, but is released by the downward movement of its controlling bar, produced consequent upon the dis- The cam then drops into binding engagement with the pin or stud 16 on the pole socket.

The several constructions above described show the locking cams as operating by gravity when released, but it will be obvious that they can be positively operated by means of springs, weights or the like, if desired, illustration thereof being considered unnecessary since the action is in no way changed.

Fig. 6 shows the invention applied to an ordinary trolley pole 1, which is fitted in a socket 2 pivoted at 7 to the pole support 3. The locking member or cam 12 is pivoted on a pin or stud 13, fixed to the support 3 and co-acts with a controlling member 21, in the form of a lever which is centrally fulcrumed on the pivot pin 7 and is provided at opposite sides of said pivot with a pair of curved stops or lugs 22 and 28. The upper arm of said lever has an, extension or finger 24;, which projects upwardly at right angles thereto and is designed to coact with a stud or pin 25 on the cam 12. This pin 25 is fixed to a projection or nose 26 on the periphery oi the cam, and is engageable in a notch 27 formed in the controlling lever 21 at the base of the extension 24. The said nose 26 is normally received in this notch, and its pin 25 contacts with the edge face of the lever, as

clearly shown in Fig. 6. In consequence of this arrangement, it will be apparent that when the pole leaves the wire and starts to move upward, its socket 2 will press against the upper stop lug 22, with the result that the lever 21 will be rocked counter-clockwise about its pivot '7 and will thereby disengage the cam no'se 26 from the notch 27. The cam will then swing downward and come into binding engagement with the socket, thus checking further upward move ment of the pole; and if the latter is subsequently depressed slightly from any cause, the cam will tend to continue its downward rocking movement, thus increasing its binding or wedging action. Reiingagement of the pole is effected. by moving it downward until its socket strikes against the lower stop lug 23 on the controlling lever, whereupon the latter will be rocked in a clockwise direction about pivot 7 During this movement, the lower edge of the extension 24: will .ride along the pin 25, and will swing the element 2, as anenti'rely,-'z'. 6., not only the apertured part in which the pole end actually fits, but also the portionsto whichthe pins or studs 7 and 16 are'fixed. The entire locking mechanism can thus be disposed at the base of the pole, with the result that the action is simplified as compared with constructions wherein the trolley wheel or other part at the free end of the pole is relied on to actuate the locking devices through the agency of intermediate connections.

We claim as our invention 1. I11 a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket; of a movable locking member associated with the socket for holding the pole against upward movement; and a device normally retaining said locking member in ineffective position, but adapted to be operated inechanically by the movement of the socket when the pole leaves the wire to automatically release the locking member and thereby permit its movement into effective position.

2. In a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket; of a locking cam associated with the socket for holding the pole against upward movement; and a member normally retaining 'said cam in ineffective position, but adapted to be operated mechanically by the movement of the socket when the pole leaves the wire to automatically release the cam and thereby permit its movement into effective position.

3. In a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket; of a locking member movable into binding engagement with said socket to hold the pole against upward movement; and a device under the sole control of said socket for normally retaining said member in ineffective position for such engagement, but adapted to be operated by the movement of the socket when the pole leaves the wire to automatically release said device and thereby permit it to so engage said socket.

4. In a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket; of a locking member for holding the pole against upward movement; a controlling member directly cooperative with said locking member for normally holding it in ineffective position but automatically releasable from it when the pole leaves the wire to permit its movement into effective position; and means under the sole control of said socket for operating said controlling member.

5. In atrolley mechanism the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket; of a pivotally mounted cam movable into and out of binding engagementwith the socket to hold the pole against upward movement; and a device carried by said socket and movablerelativel-y'to the same normally retaining said cam in ineffective position for such engagement, but automatically releasable therefrom when the pole leaves the wire to permit it to so engage said socket.

6. In a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket; of a pivotally mounted locking cam movable into and out of position to hold the pole against upward movement; and a device pivoted to said socket and having a portion directly co-acting with said cam to normally retain it in ineffective position, but automatically releasable therefrom when the pole leaves the wire to permit its swinging movement into effective position.

7 In a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket, said base and said socket being each provided with a lateral projection; of a cam pivoted on one 1 of said projections and adapted to swing into and out of locking engagement with the other to hold the pole against upward movement; and a device under the direct and sole control of said socket normally retaining said cam in inef fective position, for such engagement, but automatically releasable therefrom when the pole leaves the wire to permit its movement into position to so engage said projection.

8. In a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith and provided with a lateral projection, and a pole fitted in said. socket; of a cam movable into and out of locking engagement with said projection to hold. the pole against upward movement; and a device under the direct and sole control of said socket normally retaining said cam in ineffective position, for such engagement, but automatically releasable therefrom when the pole leaves the wire to permit its movement into position to so engage said projection.

9. In a trolley mechanism, the combination, with a base, a socket pivotally connected therewith, and a pole fitted in said socket, the socket and base constituting companion parts, one of which is provided with a lateral projection; of a pivoted cam adapted to swing into and out of locking engagement with said projection to hold the pole against upward movement; and a device ment into position to so engage said projection.

In testimony whereof We have signed this specification in the presence of two subscrlblng Witnesses.

CHARLES EMILE PIGAOI-IE.

PIERRE PIGACHE;

Witnesses:

EMILE LEDRET, CHAS. P. PRESSLYL, 

